Gear

Audi Has a Hidden Electric Longboard In Its Bumper

Audi unveiled its Connected Mobility Concept, the vehicle itself doesn’t really matter. What’s interesting is what’s inside of it: a beautiful electric longboard that automatically charges when it’s stowed inside the rear bumper. The idea is that the car’s navigation system automatically calculates whether your’e better off driving or using the longboard to get to your destination — and if it tells you to take the longboard, it’ll first suggest a place to park.

The longboard, which is basically an insanely over-engineered piece of art made of aluminum and carbon fiber, can be used in one of three modes. You can ride it like a normal longboard, deploy a handlebar to use it as a scooter, or put it in a cargo mode where you can load it up with groceries and have it follow you around autonomously by tracking a phone or smartwatch. The board goes over seven miles on a charge and can hit 18 miles per hour, which is just fast enough to be scary.